“Youngstown was
part of the loop when we were driving around in our van in the early
days,” said Takac, calling from Buffalo. “Cedars, man, we played there a
ton of times back in ’87 or ’88.”

The rock trio makes its return
to the area Tuesday at the Covelli Centre in support of its new CD
“Something for the Rest of Us.” Among the new tracks that Takac is
excited about are the album’s lead track, the rhythmic “Sweetest Lie”
and the dynamic “Notbroken.” The latter tune has actually become a
centerpiece of the group’s current show.

“The song itself takes a
pretty diverse sonic journey and by the end it blows up into kind of
like The Who,” Takac said. “It’s funny, ‘Notbroken’ we’ve been doing
that as an encore track for the tour and there is something about the
way it builds and the placement of it in our set that makes something
really special happen with our audience. So when it finally reaches that
ending crescendo, it has an explosiveness that kind of happens. I think
you try to get those kinds of emotions to happen with a large group of
people, and that one really hit the mark.”

Speaking
of playing live, the multi-platinum trio has found itself in a place
where its show set list is already written no matter what album the act
is supporting.

“We’ve got so many songs that people come to hear,”
Takac said. “I guess that’s the coolest thing about the set at this
point is we’re going to come out and play a whole night of songs that 90
percent you’ll probably know if you’re an avid fan or a casual
listener. That’s something you can only grow into as a band over a
period of time.”

That means fans will hear everything from popular
singles “Name” and “Iris” to “Slide,” “Here Is Gone,” “Big Machine” and
“Home.” The latter is the band’s 14th top 10 adult top 40 hit, which
means the Goo Goo Dolls have charted the most top 10 singles in that
radio format.

When you look over the Goo Goo Dolls long list of
radio hits, you can’t help but think about the band’s evolution. More
so, the act finds itself in good company with the likes of Bon Jovi and
the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Sure, the three groups seemingly have little
in common; however, despite each of the band’s roots – Bon Jovi’s hair
metal, the Peppers’ funk/alternative and the Goo’s punk – all three
found platinum success at adult top 40 radio. Can you imagine telling
each of the band members when they were 18 where their group genre-wise
would be most at home?

“Yeah, it’s funny, a lot of people who
heard our earlier records say go back and make that record again, that
hard rock or punk rock record,” Takac said. “It’s sort of like we’re not
those punk rock kids that we were, so I don’t think we’d feel right
about going in and making a record of that sort. It wouldn’t be
authentic. Just being able to grow and move forward, that’s what we love
to do. Obviously we’ve left a few (fans) along the way but I think
we’ve done a good job at maintaining a lot of those fans who have been
around for a while, and being able to add some new ones to that as
well.”

What can’t be denied is the fact the Goo Goo Dolls have added plenty of ladies into the mix over the past 15 years.

Speaking of feeling authentic, Takac quipped, “Yeah, it beats looking at a bunch of dudes.”